^^!!^^^ -^^i. 3^K^ ^^^ ^«^. '¦ ?ec?-- •^¦'¦-»" *«7i^' ' CBu Interior View of Malmesbury Market-Cross. by many devotees ; a goodly congregation might always be calculated upon as a certainty on the anniversary. The butt of wine he added, with much simplicity and candour, would enable the people to pray more fervently. 6o -ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. Fortunately, Malmesbury Cross is in an excellent state of preservation, and Leland's description is as accurate as any we could write at the present time, though when he saw it in Henry VIII. 's reign the cross was one hundred years old. It is to be regretted that there was no Catter- mole or Prout in those days to paint the wonderfully picturesque scenes that every portion of Malmesbury Abbey must have presented in those curious times, when the workmen were told -off for making the various kinds of cloth prescribed by sumptuary laws for each class of society, all these fabrics being wrought in grand old vaulted chambers. The proportions of Malmesbury Cross are different from any of the other covered market-crosses in the south. It is remarkable for its heavy lantern, and the curious way in which this lantern is made even to give solidity by throwing greater weight upon the pillars, which serve in their turn as abutments for the groining of the interior. Many of the old buildings near the cross belonged origi nally to the dismantled abbey, but, in their present character, they are changed out of all knowledge. Chichester market-cross is the most elaborate and im posing in England. It would seem, by its mouldings and general appearance, to belong to a somewhat more recent date than Malmesbury, though if Leland's in homimim memorid is to be taken in its literal, and not its figurative sense, that cannot well be. The plan of Chichester Cross is so nearly identical with that of Malmesbury that it has not been considered necessary to give the latter ; the only material difference being that in Chichester all the eight sides are open to the ground, while in IMalmesbury a low ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 6i kind of plinth walling, on which the rustics may be seen sitting, encloses six of its sides. Though Chichester is more imposing, and covers more ground, Malmesbury is Chichester Market-Cross. much more elegant in its proportions, with the additional advantage of being more picturesquely surrounded. Chi chester affords about four hundred square feet of standing room ; this space was not generally used for farm-produce, 62 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. which mostly came to market in covered waggons having waterproof tops, as we still see covered carts in most rural parts of England. Chichester Cross was built by Edward Story, who was advanced from the see of Carlisle to this more genial part of the country by King Edward IV., in the year 1475. It was repaired in the reign of Charles II., by Charles, Duke Plan of Chichester Market- Cross. of Richmond, Lennox, and Aubigny ; though perhaps there may have been a little laxity in the disposal of the fund left by the bishop, for he certainly bequeathed an estate of _^2 5 per annum to keep the cross in repair; a very ample sum indeed, to judge of money at its then value, of which, as before stated, there is not only much uncertainty at the present time, but even much contradiction. The clock is ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 63 recent, and only dates back to 1724. "There is," says Britton, speaking of this cross, " a degree of grandeur in design and elegance of execution superior to anything of the kind in England. The canopied arches, tracery on the surface, sculptured cornice and frieze, with the purfled pinnacles and flying buttresses, show both taste in the architect and science in the mason. This cross, of course, stands in the middle of the city, as was the proper custom in all old market-crosses." It may seem hypercritical to suggest a fault in such a beautiful structure, but even with every desire to acknowledge the general excellence of the design, we cannot but think that the story above the octagonal space is somewhat heavy, and seems rather to have the effect of crushing down the arches on which this beautiful cross rests. Unhappily, the surroundings of Chichester market-cross lend it but little picturesqueness, as the whole city has been modernised to a very consider able extent. Some pleasant houses are still left round the cathedral, where church dignitaries reside, but the city in itself is very much changed. The next illustration, carefully reduced from a fine old engraving, is of a market-cross at Ipswich. Unfortunately, the cross was demolished during the present century; otherwise it would have formed a valuable addition to the antiquities of England. It stood opposite to the old Town Hall, an exceedingly picturesque building, which was also removed a few years ago. On the top of Ipswich market-cross stood a gigantic figure of a female with scales, probably intended to remind the rustics who sheltered under it that they must be true and just in all their dealings. The cross was octagonal, and 64 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. very richly and quaintly carved. The elliptical arches that -supported the roof stood on Doric columns of excellent proportions ; the roof, ogee in form, was covered with lead. There is a singular resemblance in the character of the ornamentation to that of the well-known "Sparrowe's House," in the same town, of which Mr. Taylor, in his Ipswich Market-Cross. excellent guide to Ipswich, says, " The style of ornamenta tion, so lavishly bestowed on the. exterior, is that known as ' pargetting,' and is one not uncommon in old Suffolk houses of about the beginning of the sixteenth or the end of the fifteenth century." Probably this old house and the cross were nearly contemporaneous : the former, it is ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 65 known, was built by George Copping in the year 1567, and then this interesting city mansion fell into the hands of the Sparrowe family, who occupied it from generation to generation until within a few years since. The last of the Sparrowes who resided in it was the town-clerk of Ipswich. The cross here given would be an excellent model for the recently projected cabmen's and carriers' sheltering- places, which are now springing up in many towns in England ; and should such a structure be required in Ipswich, the present generation will have the melancholy satisfaction of knowing that a beautiful one was destroyed within the recollection of some persons now living. They cannot build a more commodious one, they cannot possibly contrive one so interesting, and they are very unlikely to erect such a picturesque one. The market-cross of Ross, in Herefordshire, is hardly of the nature of a cross, but is more of a covered market- house of modern, days ; and, indeed, it will be the latest we shall have occasion to notice. It is divided into two gables, which cut it in two, and is open on each side ; the octa gonal form has become quadrangular, and there is a hall over the market. Although the building has a very venerable appearance, it is not in reality older than Charles II. 's time ; there is a medallion of that monarch on the front to the street. This market-place is built of soft red sandstone, very similar to that of which Chester Cathedral is constructed ; the stone is in a state of disintegration, and it is owing to this circumstance that it has so venerable an appearance. It stands at the head of a steep, beautiful street, in a lovely country town on the river Wye, and is directly opposite to F 66 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. the house of the " Man of Ross," now converted into two shops. There is a curious monogram of the Man of Ross on the opposite side to his old house, which tradition and Ross Market-House. fervid imagination have translated into the somewhat tame legend, " Love Charles in your heart." Shrewsbury is familiar to nearly every one who travels in England; it is a delightful old city, full of historical ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 67 associations. The ancient market -hall, here shown, is not so venerable-looking a building as the one at Ross, though considerably older ; but the stone of which it is built is more durable. It is by far the most imposing specimen we have left of this kind of building in England, although, like Ross, it can perhaps hardly be called a market-cross. rr«. .l^^l ll &^ Shrewsbury Market-Place. It was built in the year 1596, and is used at the present time on market-days, being sufficiently large for the requirements of a town like Shrewsbury. The standing- room for market-people is fully three hundred square yards. A very large market has, however, been recently erected in the vicinity in addition to this. Shrewsbury market-house, though good in design, is 68 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. rather debased for the period, the moulding and general ornaments being more like those of the reign of Charles I. ; there is a curious kind of scroll along the sides, which takes the place of battlements, and is rather heavy in appearance. The houses round the market-square have, in a great number of instances, been modernised, but there are still some fine specimens of antiquity left. There is a curious and very beautiful open octagonal pulpit, apparently of the fourteenth century, standing in a vacant space in Shrewsbury, which has sometimes been taken for a preaching-cross, like Hereford ; but it is, in reality, only part of the old abbey that has had the good fortune to survive destruction. The High Cross of Shrews bury has long been destroyed, but its place is pointed out in old documents. Unhappily, it is not connected with pleasant associations, for before it the last of the British princes, David, a brother of Llewellyn, was cruelly put to death by Edward I. ; and at a later period many of the nobility who were taken at the battle of Shrewsbury were there executed, the High Cross being considered the most appropriate place for such a spectacle. At one time Shrewsbury market-place was the principal exchange for the sales of Welsh flannels, and its extra ordinary size may thus be accounted for ; but, with alterations in the way of conducting business, this advan tage has left it, and it is now entirely a farmers' market- hall. It is almost needless to add that the clock in the gable is not, as many visitors suppose, the celebrated Shrewsbury clock to which Falstaff alludes ; that is the clock of St. Mary's Church, on the other side of the town. The gables of Shrewsbury market-cross are generally ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 69 allowed to be well-proportioned, and the outline of the structure is exceedingly picturesque ; exception may be taken to the exceeding coarseness of the curves of the enrichments, but this fault belongs entirely to the age in which it was erected. In nearly all those places where the market-crosses just alluded to were built, there cannot be a question but that more ancient ones preceded them ; the various accounts of meetings at the cross, and even of legal documents being sometimes described as executed there, would confirm this. There are covered markets now in almost every city or town of any importance in England. In Chester a new and very capacious market-place has been built in what is commonly called Northgate Square; it joins the Town Hall, and presents a gable only to the road, but it has not superseded a meat-market that still stands in the square, perfectly detached, and is only open once a week. In York there is not even yet a covered market, but the farmers come as of old in covered carts, and bring their produce ; it is true, indeed, that some of the inhabi tants have moved for a new market, and have urged the site to be that of the ancient parliament house and some curious buildings at the lower end of Samson Square, by which proceeding a fine block of old domestic archi tecture would be destroyed. But better counsels have prevailed in the meantime, and let us hope that, through the increasing interest now manifested in the question of preserving old monuments, such desecration will not be allowed ; for surely there is room enough in Yorkshire to build covered markets, and yet to spare the few hundred yards of ground whereon these old relics stand. VL HE Cross of Newark, which forms the subject of the first illustration to this chapter, has often been erroneously called an Eleanor Cross ; it is apparent at a glance that it belongs to a much later style of architecture. It was built by the Duchess of Norfolk, who married John, Viscount Beau mont; he was slain at the battle of Tow:;on-Moor, in Yorkshire. That England should have been the scene of the most fearful battle-fields seems now almost incredible ; but we are so familiar with the vivid pictures Shakespere has given of the wars of the Roses, that they appear, as we read him, more real than even the comparatively recent struggles of the Commonwealth. The great battle of Towton, which took place March 29, 1461, is thus described by Hall : — " This battle was sore fought, for hope of life was set on side on every part, and taking of prisoners was proclaimed as a great offence ; by reason whereof every man determined either to conquer or to die in the field. This deadly battle and bloody conflict con tinued ten hours in doubtful victory, the one part sometime flowing and sometime ebbing ; but, in conclusion. King Edward so courageously comforted his men, refreshing the ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 7 1 weary and helping the wounded, that the other part was discomfited and overcome, and, like men amazed, fled toward Tadcaster bridge to save themselves. . . . This Newark Cross. conflict was in manner unnatural, for in it the son fought against the father, the brother against the brother, the nephew against the uncle, and the tenant against his 72 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. lord." Above thirty-six thousand men are computed to have fallen in the battle and pursuit. Shakespere, in the Third Part of Ki7ig Henry VI., describes with his usual felicity the distressing features of this great civil conflict. There is a son who had killed his father without knowing him : — " From London by the King was I press'd forth ; My father, being the Earl of Warwick's man, Came on the part of York, press'd by his master; And I, who at his hands received my life. Have by my hands of lit bereaved him." And then there follows the scene of a son killed in like way by his father, who says — " What stratagems, how fell, how butcherly, Erroneous, mutinous, and unnatural, This deadly quarrel daily doth beget ! — O boy, thy father gave thee life too soon, And hath bereft thee of thy life too late ! " Newark, by the old roads, wduld be about seventy-three miles from Towton, and here the body of Beaumont was brought for interment, and the cross of which we are writing was erected by his widow to his memory. It is a valuable example of a memorial cross, as the date is so completely fixed ; and, singularly enough, at Wake field there is a most beautiful chapel, built on the bridge over the Calder, to commemorate those who fell on the other side of the combatants. The canopy of this cross has been restored in recent times ; in all probability it was tabernacle-work originally. In an engraving, apparently about ninety years old, the present canopy is not given. The Cross of lieadington, in Oxfordshire, is a fine old specimen of fourteenth-century work. To some extent it ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 73 bears a resemblance to Newark ; but it has the advantage of a fine base, composed of quarter-foils, which enclose a kind of open book in the middle. Headington Cross, Oxford. King Edward the Confessor was born at Islip, near here, and for some time he lived at Headington. The palace of his father Ethelred was in the neighbourhood : its site is believed to be in the grounds of a house called 74 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. the Rookery, in the vicinity. The date of Lieadington Cross is uncertain ; but it is indisputable that in the fifteenth century the kings of England had a chapel in the royal manor of Lieadington, and equally certain that the cross was standing then. The head of the cross is modern, and simply a kind of rude tabernacle-work. It belongs to the same class of heads as that of Henley, in Warwickshire, which was probably a contemporaneous structure, and another at Dela mere, which has only recently been exhumed. The head of Henley Cross is here given ; it is very curious. There is a most singular carving of the crucifixion overshadowed entirely, as it would seem, by the Supreme Being in the act of benediction. Perhaps there is nothing like this in England, nor can we recollect any similar ancient device in any other country. This head is borne up by four angels at the angles, which seem never to have been surmounted by pinnacles. There is a very remarkable cross at Leighton, near Bedford, commonly called Leighton-Buzzard. The affix Head of Henley Cross. ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 75 of Buzzard has been considered an abbreviation of " Beau- desart." This, we think, is a mistake. In old documents it is spelt Bosard and Bozard, There was an old family Leighton-Buzzard Cross, Bedfordshire. of that name in the reign of Edward I., and they' appear again in Edward III.'s time, as knights of the shire. 76 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. This cross would seem to date back to the reign of Henry VL, so far as its mouldings and general character may be taken as an indication. It is pentagonal in plan, is twenty-seven feet high, on a base of five steps, with pinnacles, fifteen heads, and niched figures ; there is a strong central column. It was restored in 1650. Notwith standing all we can. say in praise of the unerring skill of mediaeval designers, any form of uneven sides is not satisfactory; as we have before remarked, it must of necessity throw one side out of the centre in nearly any position from which it may be seen ; this defect is very much more noticeable in the otherwise exquisite cross of Geddington, one of the Eleanor crosses illustrated in a previous chapter. Leighton-Buzzard Cross appears to have been originally designed for three stories, though there is no evidence that it ever was carried out according to this plan. The abrupt termination is very striking, giving the structure a heavy and ungraceful appearance. If another stage be added, the improvement will be plainly seen. The once celebrated Cross of Abingdon, in Berkshire, was built by the brethren of Holyrood Cross, who were a fraternity belonging to the Abbey of Abingdon. Among the governing body were Sir John Golafre and Thomas Chaucer, the son of the poet ; the latter, it is generally thought, was concerned in designing Abingdon Cross. It has been described by Leland as " a right goodly cross of stone, with faire degrees and imagerie," situated in the market-place. This cross -was repaired in the year 1605 by the gentry of the neighbourhood ; and an incident like this shows that, notwithstanding the sudden reception of ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 77 a foreign style, a real admiration of genuine English architecture was not by any means extinct. One gentle man subscribed the sum of ;^30, a large amount in those SI Abinsdon Cross. days for any such purpose. At the treaty with the Scots in 1 64 1, a gathering of two thousand people sang the 1 06th Psalm at the cross. It was a curious circumstance 78 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. that they should select that place for this particular ceremony, as all crosses were proclaimed idolatrous by their preachers. Already many grand old monuments had been senselessly swept away; Abingdon Abbey was de stroyed a century before, as were many of its fellows ; glorious relics of architecture were heaps of stones, which from that day even to this have served to build barns and granaries. Time has now transformed many a demolished building into a pleasing ruin ; then, however, the breaches were recent, and the remains uncovered with moss. But these things did not move them. The intolerant fury against what were called superstitious edifices, which has destroyed so many beautiful monuments of art both in England and Scotland, decreed the destruction of Abingdon Cross, and it was "sawn" down by Waller's army in 1 644. Even Richard Symonds, an officer in the Cromwellian army, paid a tribute to its beauty. Coventry Cross was built, it is believed, after the same design as Abingdon ; and though the former is also de stroyed, we are in possession of abundant documents and drawings to show what it was like. It is later in style than Waltham, and much more florid. Perhaps, indeed, it cannot fairly, considering its date, be compared with that incomparable' work of art; but it must have been very grand when complete. Britton, in the "Antiquities of English Cities," gives a most interesting account of it. It was so richly gilded, that we are assured when, country people came to Coventry, they could " hardly bear to look upon it when the sun was shining." The history of this cross is somewhat curious. It was built at the cost of Sir William HoUis, who made a bequest for that purpose. ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 79 himself laying the first stone. It was erected on the site of an ancient cross, of which we have been unable to find any record or description. The town leet of that time were duly sensible of its worth, for they passed laws to protect it from injury. Among these was a fine of three shillings and fourpence for sweeping dust in the enclosure — the cross-cheepinge as it is called — without previously sprinkling the dust with water to prevent its rising upon the gilded work of the cross. The regilding of this magnificent structure, in the year 1668, used up, we are informed, 15,403 books of gold. It is quite an unsettled question how far this mode of decoration in the open air is consistent with High Art. It is true the Greeks used it to a very great extent, and the Acropolis was at one time a vast mass of coloured marble buildings. Great allowance must be made for the climate ; it is well known that steamers plying between the Mediterranean ports and England soon find a difference in the polish ot the brass fittings, for there they remain bright for many days, while in Liverpool or London they become dim, if polished ever so carefully, after being for a few hours in either harbour. The cost of repairing and regilding the cross in 1668 was the large sum of ;^ 2 76 2.?. id., and the articles are yet in existence which confirm the agreement. The Mayor of Coventry, in his oflficial capacity, seems t© have made the bargain for the restoration with one John Sweyne, who resided at Brereton, in Cheshire, and his avocation seems to have been "stone-cutting." It seems almost incredible that the beauty of this cross should not have preserved it from deliberate destruction even so lately as the close 8o ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. of the last century. It was considered by the sapient inhabitants to be behind the age, and rather in the way ! Some features of Coventry Cross are very curious ; fortunately it is preserved in an excellent copper-plate engraving, now not procurable, published by T. Deago, of Lligh Street, St. Giles's. There were a vast number of figures on it ; at the summit was a statue of Justice with scales, and on the opposite side one of Justice with a sword. Slightly above these was a figure of Mercy with an ex tended arm. The total height of the cross was nearly sixty feet. The last cross we shall allude to in this chapter is Somersby, near Florncastle, in Lincolnshire, which is widely different in appearance from any we have as yet con sidered, and, indeed, is quite unique in England. It is fifteen feet in height, is sur mounted by a triangle, em battled, and the top of the shaft has an embattled head. In other respects it is a tall, graceful column, octagonal, and springing from brooches which rest on a square pedestal. On one side is a figure of the Virgin and Child, and on the other is the Crucifixion. Somersby Cross. ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 8i This cross is pleasantly situated in the churchyard of Somersby, on the south side of the church. Whether it is a memorial or a weeping-cross there is nothing to determine ; nor, indeed, can we discover the date of its erection: it may have been about 1450, judging from its general character. The church presents few points of interest architecturally : the living has long been in the gift of the Burton family, who are lords of the manor. VII. |HERE are many crosses yet standing in England that date back far beyond the Conquest, and far beyond any ecclesiastical buildings, even among those that are in ruins. These ancient relics are mosf curious and instructive, reminding us how little we know of Britain from the time the Romans left it to the time when, under the iron sway of William of Normandy, it was consolidated into the kingdom it has remained to the present day. There is a long hiatus from the Roman period to the early dawn of recorded history, over which all the chronicles we possess cast but an uncertain light. In the year 398 Stilicho sent effectual aid to the Roman colonists in Britain, who felt the loss of the legions that were recalled for the defence of the capital ; and for awhile they were protected against the savages of the Grampians, and the adventurers from the Elbe and the Baltic. It seems strange, when we contemplate such vast Roman remains — splendid cities, villas, and roads which were not equalled until Telford's time — that the colonists could do so little to protect themselves against rude tribes. Honorius tried to arouse them, but he tried in vain ; and after sending them aid A.D. 422, he left them to their fate. ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 83 Among the emigrants that continually came from Rome were not a few Christian converts. St. Ninian arrived as early as about the year 350, and founded a monastery in Galloway. Many others followed, and St. Columba, who was born in Ireland in 521, landed about two centuries after St. Ninian in the desolate dominion of the Picts, and with twelve friends founded the monastic retreat of lona. Now, as missionaries were sent out from these homes of Christianity, it is easy to comprehend how forms of ancient crosses may have been transported to various parts of England ; yet so far we have not been successful in finding the dates of the oldest of them. There is a singular resemblance between the architecture of these crosses and other remains of antiquity of which history leaves us in the dark. The Runic sculptures have a strikingly Eastern appearance. It may, of course, be quite accidental, but it is a singular circumstance that the ancient rites described by Stephens in his "Ruins of Central America," and well delineated by him — those mysterious and vast cities round which hard wood forest- trees have grown, and quietly thrust up stones weighing many tons — seem to have travelled round the globe by the East. This ancient architecture appears in China, and on some Pacific Islands long deserted ; it is strongly developed in Hindostan among the ancient ruins, and there are many traces of it in the older cities of Italy, which had arrived at a high state' of civilisation long before Rome was built. The coincidence of design is curious, but the cross at Carew, or the Runic stone at West Kirby, might easily pass for stones from the very farthest East. The " old crosses " at Sandbach, in Cheshire, have long 84 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. been considered to be the most interesting and ancient Christian relics in England. Sandbach is situated in a Crosses at Sandbach, Cheshire, rather uninteresting part of the county, though there are some excellent specimens of antique -architecture in the A-VCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 85 neighbourhood ; among which are Crewe Hall, and the old hall at Sandbach, now used as an hotel and as an office for Lord Crewe's agents. An excellent account of these crosses has been written by Lysons and Ormerod. It is supposed^that they were raised on the spot where a priest from Northumberland first preached Christianity, and that they were erected in the eighth century. Startling as this date may seem, there appears little reason to doubt its accuracy. The stone they are cut from is the very hardest of the lower Silurian formation, and seems almost to defy abrasion. On the lower part of the east side of the higher cross is a circle (shown in the engraving), containing what in all probability has been correctly called the Salutation of Elisabeth ; the figure in the centre is supposed to be from Luke, " The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." Above this circle is the " Annunciation," " Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." Above this is a sculpture of the Crucifixion ; at the foot of the cross are the figures of Mary, wife of Cleophas, and Mary- Magdalene ; while in singular grotesque series are the emblems of the Four Evangelists : these are just indicated round the intersection of the cross — that is to say, an angel is cut for St. Matthew, a lion for St. jNIark, a bull for St. Luke, and an eagle for St. John. There is much precision about the sculptures, and an infinite amount of action, as in the bringing of Christ into the judgment-hall, Pilate seated on the judgment-seat, and the contrition of Judas — it will be remembered that Judas repented of his treachery, and cast down the thirty pieces of silver in the Temple, and he is here represented with his 86 ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. head depressed, as showing his remorse ; above this, over the plain blank stone, are certain figures that are said to represent the " implements of the passion," such as ham mer, pincers, &c. ; but this sculpture is much mutilated. A local description of these singular medallions, which is at least careful, says : — "On the west side of the cross is a plain cross ; in the lower quarters are two dread, fiend like animals, in the act of biting the transverse part of it ; their tails are fretted, gnawed, and terminated with a snake's head." This is obviously the seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent. Higher up is a rude representation of the angel Gabriel appearing to Zacharias in the Temple, who is seated on a chair, struck dumb. Quoting the local description above alluded to, " Above is a man walking with a club in his hand, and followed by Simon the Cyrenian, carrying over his shoulder the cross." Of course this may be the correct interpretation, but in such rude sculpture there is much that is merely con jectural. As there are two unmistakable stars in each panel, it would perhaps be more consistent to consider them as the Magi : " We have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him." This would be more consecutive as to time, for the panel immediately above is said, and perhaps correctly, to be the bringing of Christ bound before the judgment-seat. Another side is filled with beautiful filigree-work, not at all inconsistent with the late Colonel Forde's theory of the still greater antiquity of the crosses than that already suggested. Lie attributes the date of their erection to the seventh century of the Christian era. It was owing to him that the fragments were collected and restored as far ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 87 as they have been ; he was Lord of the Manor of Sand bach, and a very accomplished antiquary. It is a very singular circumstance that on a cross at Kells, in Ireland, the sculptures of which resemble those on the large cross at Sandbach, there are undoubted Roman knights and horses, and a very perfect centaur, with a bow in his hand. t$ P''r/iiii (A.) J Vest side of large Cross. (b.) South side. The crosses in Ireland, it is needless to remark, are very much more ancient than those in England. On the north side of the large cross are a succession of figures one over the other, and this is said to represent the " descent of the Holy Ghost, in the shape of cloven tongues, to the Apostles ; they are placed in narrow cells, in a double row from the bottom : it is remarkable to 88 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. observe that the division on which each stands is cut off at one hand, so as not to touch the sides, leaving an uninterrupted communication between the whole, which is not observable in other parts." This very peculiarity, however, would almost seem to indicate a " Jesse tree," an ancient and favourite emblem, and the sculptures would then represent the Holy Ghost descending in the form of a dove, and the " Apostles " would be the row of ancestors, "Which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi," &c., &c. "The north side of the small cross is divided into a double row of cells, in each of which is a man, all in the act of walking, some with short daggers in their hands, others without, which in all human probability represents Peda setting out from Mercia with all his nobility and attendants from Northumberland to solicit the hand of Alchfleda, King Oswy's daughter ; and on the west side is a triple row of figures in small cells, and a tableau which is supposed to represent Peda receiving baptism. On'the south side are like figures to those on the north, all travelling on ; but instead of daggers, they carry staves in their hands. The version which the local description gives of these being Peda and his attendants is most probably correct, for Peda was the son of Penda, the King of Mercia, who was always at war with neighbouring princes. He was deputed governor of the Middle Angles, and arrived on a visit to Oswy, the King of Northumbria, who had embraced Christianity, and sought the hand of his daughter Alchfleda, for whom the pagan young prince had conceived a great passion. He was allowed to marry her on condition of his embracing the Christian faith. ANCLENT STONE CLWSSES OF ENGLAND. 89 This he consents to, and returns with his bride and some priests to his own court, promising that the priests should have every opportunity of preaching the Christian religion." The east side of the small cross is exceedingly curious, and it is doubtful if any ingenuity of interpretation could make anything out of it ; the events or circumstances to which it alludes are, in all probability, not recorded in history. There are five lozenge-like compartments, though originally there were more, and the interstices are filled with figures of men and animals ; in the uppermost lozenge is the figure of a bull, with his head reflected on his back. In the top part of the next lozenge is the figure of a man, with his hands stuck in his sides, and his feet extended from one side of the lozenge to another. In the base are two men endorsed. The next is partly mutilated, but seems to have been filled in with something of the reptile kind ; and in the next two are men with clubs in their hands. The whole of the subjects on this side are enclosed in a cjirious fretted margin, laced and indented, but of exquisite design and workmanship. It is uncertain when these crosses were mutilated, but great violence has been necessary to pull them down, for the large cross in its fall has torn away a great part of the socket-stone in which it had been firmly fixed, on the opposite side from that on which it fell ; the bottom part was split with wedges, and long served to protect the sides of a neighbouring well, while other fragments of this truly interesting relic were used as doorsteps and guards for the corners of walls : some parts were taken to Oulton Park, the seat of Sir Philip de Malpas Egerton, where 90 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. they served to adorn a grotto. The restoration of these relics was entrusted to Mr. Palmer, of Manchester, and he had the valuable assistance of Mr. Ormerod, of Sedbury Park, the author of the " History of Cheshire." It may be remarked that the whole of the groups in the larger cross are from Scriptural subjects, while those in lona, Scotland. the smaller one relate most probably to secular history, much of which must for ever remain unknown, as in all probability the events portrayed in the panels are not preserved in any history, and these rude old sculptures are the only record left. They were originally terminated by a form of cross and circle, similar to those in Scotland or in Ireland, but these have long been destroyed : never- ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 91 theless they are most interesting and well-preserved relics of antiquity. Much similarity of character will be observed between Monasterboice, Louth. the crosses of Sandbach and those of lona, in Scotland, and Monasterboice, in the county of Louth, both of which 92 ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. are here shown for the sake of comparison. When Boswell and Johnson visited the ruins of lona, the former was much disappointed with the rude remains, — having pictured to himself sculptures hardly, if at all, inferior to those of Westminster Abbey, — and expressed his surprise to his companion, who made the well-known rejoinder : "We are treading now the illustrious island which was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence ^ Incised Slabs, Chester Cathedral. savage clans and roving barbarians first derived the blessings of religion. Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses, whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings." The monastery of lona was at one time a splendid seat of learning, whence priests were sent out into all parts of the world, and where in their pilgrimages they met with ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 93 brethren from the south on their travels to the north ; and thus, while a distinctive character is maintained in the crosses they caused to be erected, there is yet a similarity. Bromboro Cri and in some there is a nondescript character (if indeed such a word can be applied to any one branch of their qjiaint architecture beyond any other part) that would 94 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. almost seem to point to the joint design of northern and southern monks. Sculptured crosses, and sometimes incised slabs, were placed over the graves of ecclesiastics from very ancient times, and two recent ones, probably about A.D. 1350, which have been brought to light in the restoration of Chester Cathedral, are shown on page 92. At one time it is said a Runic cross stood in the village of Bromboro, in the hundred of Wirral, in Cheshire ; but the only cross that is now standing was built about the year 1400. It is in a very pleasant English-looking village, on the high road between Liverpool and Chester. One remarkable feature in it is the high flight of steps, all of which have very small treads. The upper portion of the cross has been taken away, and a very unsightly sundial substituted, with a large round ball over it. It is in good repair, and might be restored to something like its original form without great expense. VIII. jT was not possible to conclude the more ancient forms of crosses in one chapter; indeed, they might be continued almost indefinitely, for in Cornwall, and some parts of Devon and Wales, they are very numerous. The Sandbach crosses seem at first to be curious isolated memorials, and they are all the more interesting from there being so very little that resembles them in that part of England ; on this account some very curious Runic crosses which have been discovered at West Kirby are worthy of note. True it is, this place is forty miles away, but in the same county. The class of sculpture, though common in Scotland and Ireland, and not unknown in the Isle of Man, is rare in England, as has already been noticed. It would seem not to be without connecting links, however, for opposite to the West Kirby Cross was Hilbre Island, at the mouth of the Dee, easily approached at low water over the celebrated Dee Sands, that have so often proved fatal to wayfarers when overtaken by the rising tide. On this island, which is now only inhabited by a lighthouse- keeper, there was at one time a cell of Cistercian monks in connection with Chester Cathedral ; traces of it have been recently discovered. A red sandstone cross of 96 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. Eastern character, with a ribbon moulding, was found here ; it appears to be a little later than the one at West Kirby. Mr. Eckroyd Smith, speaking of it, says : " The cross is similar in design to several found in Ireland and the Isle of Man, except in its circular border, which closely resembles the Greek meandros, and is of rare occurrence, as we have only been able to discover it, but associated with other details, upon the following crosses, all situate in the Isle of Man, viz., Ballaugh Churchyard, with Runes ; Kirkandrew's Green, at the church gates ; garden of the Vicarage, Jurby." A sepulchral stone, evidently of a date anterior to the Norman Conquest, was found on the island, in what was certainly at one time a graveyard ; the style corresponds very materially with the cross above described. The parish of West Kirby is situated in the north-west part of Cheshire, and contained two churches — one the parish-church, and the other a chapel of ease upon St. Hildeburgh's Eye, as it is called in old documents ; singu larly enough, all mention of it is omitted in Domesday Book ; indeed, our information of it is derived from the charters of St. Werburgh, in Chester, and it is from this source that Ormerod principally quotes. The remains of the Runic cross here engraved were found on the banks of the estuary of the Dee, and were only disembedded recently, during some repairs to the venerable church. The two fragments formed part of the shaft. Mr. Eckroyd Smith, speaking of this relic, says : " It belongs to a class of sculptured remains which, though of not unfrequent occurrence in Scotland and Ireland, are rare in England. Upon each of the four sides, complete ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 97. or fragmentary, appears a Runic knot or braid ; two of them are so badly chipped that the ornament is hardly recognisable, but their fellows display varieties of the Runic interlacing work of great variety." In Dr. Stuart's excellent book on the " Early Sculptured Stones of Scotland and the North of England," there does not appear to be any stone presenting the varieties of those given here. Remains of Runic Cross, West Kirby, Cheshire. It is not a little singular that in the immediate vicinity of this cross was found a magnesian limestone lintel five and a half feet in length, and sculptured with the same kind of interlaced work as the Christian relic ; there is hardly a doubt that these two interesting remains belonged to some old temple of which all record has long since perished. The late Mr. Gilbert French wrote an elaborate article to show that these twisted Runic designs were simply the H 98 ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. attempt to imitate in stone the osier-work of our Scandi navian ancestry; but the reasoning is perhaps hardly cogent, though the theory is now commonly adopted. It will be remarked that the angles of these stones are corded, which is uncommon in contemporary remains. ^^$^. Eyam Cross, Derbyshire. The next example we shall notice is that at Eyam, in Derbyshire, which is an old Saxon cross of excellent pro portions, situated in the graveyard of the parish church. It is in a good state of preservation, and, like that of Bakewell, is a very perfect example of the period in which ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 99 it was built. There are five elegant scrolls cut upon the front of the shaft in relief, and in the middle of thQse is a trefoiled leaf. A slender spray also is cut over the volute, terminating in a similar trefoiled leafwork. The curves of the foliage bear some resemblance to Roman work, and whatever may be the date, there is no doubt they have been copied from Roman scrolls. Eyam is a village on the Peak, not very far from Bakewell; and in 1757, in digging a grave near the fine old cross, three out of five men were struck with a remark able illness, closely resembling the plague of 1666, and died. The fact led to curious speculation, for this village was attacked by the plague, which was supposed to have been brought from London in a box of clothes. Mompes- son, the rector of the parish, devoted himself with great courage to stay its progress. He lies buried only a few feet from the cross. This interesting relic lay in pieces in a corner of the churchyard when John Howard, the phi lanthropist, had it restored to its present site. Bakewell Cross strongly resembles Eyam, but the scroll work is not so graceful ; it is also in the churchyard, and is much more ancient than the church, though the latter contains some fine Norman work. The town of Bakewell is delightfully situated in the vale between Matlock and Buxton, and its other attractions overshadow the cross. Carew Cross, which is situated in a remarkably pictu resque part of Pembroke, differs very materially from either of the above-mentioned, and more closely resembles the Eastern relics we have spoken of. The interlaced work is identical with many examples in Ireland, Scot land, and the Isle of Man ; its exact counterpart may be 100 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. found in old specimens of metal-work, or carvings from Cairo or Rosetta, also in the interesting ruins of Central America. This cross stands about fourteen feet high, and is a monolith. There are characters upon it which have not hitherto been deciphered. -v^--- Cross in Bakewell Churchyard (East Side) . Carew Cross greatly resembles the cross in Nevern churchyard, and indeed all the remarks upon the former would apply to the latter, which forms the subject of a woodcut. The upper part of the Nevern cross might easily be mistaken for Chinese or Hindostan work, and the lower ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. loi consists of the interlacing common to many half-civilised nations. The date of these two crosses is uncertain. The crosses in Cornwall are formed of granite or serpen tine — trappean rocks that seem to have been formed out of Cross in Nevern Churchyard, Pembroke. the debris of volcanoes, such as dust and ashes. Most of these rocks are formed under water, are exceedingly hard, and in consequence but little changed. The Cornish Britons remained separate from the Saxons down to the time of the Norman conquest, when their 102 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. lands were appropriated by the Norman chiefs, though their monuments remained almost undisturbed. Hugh de Poyens, the first superior of the Knights Templars, visited England A.D. 1 128, and many grants of land were made to that fraternity in the county of Corn wall. At the breaking out of the Crusade the Pope granted the Templars the symbol of martyrdom — the blood-red cross ; the Knights of St. John bore a cross of the same form, but of course black and white, and they, as well as the Templars, held lands in Cornwall, which will account probably for this particular form of cross. Cornish crosses are very numerous ; they are found by the road-sides, in churchyards, and at nearly all old cross roads, though many have been removed. The Puritans seem to have but little troubled this part of England, and the regret is the more that there are so few archi tectural examples left ; for this circumstance, added to the imperishable nature of the material of which they are built, would have preserved them to us. Only two examples are here given, though they might be multiplied indefinitely. One of these is the well-known Four-hole Cross, and the other is from Forraberry. An excellent representation of Llanhorne Cross appears in Blight's " Cornish Antiquities." This is a Runic cross, and is a specimen of a small class which may be seen in a few parts of Cornwall and Devonshire. St. Mawgan's Cross, given on p. 104, is very elaborate ; and there is a legend that has not yet been satisfactorily deciphered. The tabernacle part of this cross consists of a representation of the Crucifixion on one side, and figures of saints on the others ; it Avould almost seem to stand on ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 103 a shaft that has at some time been shortened. The base on which it rests is evidently one of the old Cornish pedestals. The age of this tabernacle is about five hundred years. In Blight's " Cornwall " there is a drawing of Llanteglos Cross, a curious feature of which is that the enrichments are let in with different coloured stone. This cross was Cornish Crosses. Four-hole Cross. Forraberry. found in a trench that ran round the old church, and was re-erected on its present site. There are two canopied niches on the broadest sides with the usual Virgin and Child, and also the Crucifixion ; and on the narrower sides are the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul. Cornwall abounds with interesting, though not pic turesque, monuments of early Christianity. At St. Roche, on a wild and almost inaccessible rock, is a recluse's cell , 104 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES. OF ENGLAND. and the remains of a cross, which are very difficult indeed to reach. Such places are doubtless the cells of recluses who have made up their minds to live in spots the most difficult of access, in order to devote themselves more undisturbedly to their meditations. In some places crosses have been let into old stone walls, and are hardly to be noticed by an ordinary passer-by. St. Mawgan's Cross, Cornwall. To a very early period indeed belongs the cross known as Sueno Pillar, near Forres, Elgin. It is a most remark able block of granite, of which no history is left ; but it so closely resembles the stones of Nineveh that it might well be mistaken for a relic from that country. This great .stone is twenty feet high and nearly four feet at the base ; ._('.tl!-i' ^ ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 105 and in confirmation of the conjectures which have been hazarded as to the Eastern character of this and other ancient sculptures in our land, it is curious to remark that on the top of this great pillar is the figure of an elephant. The sculptures are cut in a most singular manner : there are men and horses in military array, and in warlike attitude ; some seem to be holding up their shields in exultation, and others are joining hands in friendship, or as some token of fidelity. Then there is a fight and a massacre of the prisoners, and the dead are laid in perfect order, just as is seen on Asiatic sculptures of great antiquity. - The arrangement of the men also, and of the knights, seems to be pretty conclusive that the figures do not represent any tribes that inhabited those parts at the time it was erected. On the other side of this remarkable monument is a large cross with persons apparently in aythority in conference. It has been held that all this represents a scene in Scottish history, and is the expulsion from Scotland of some Scandinavians who had long infested the northern parts, about the promontory of Burghead, and had lived on " the fat of the land ; " but this is hardly a tenable theory. The name Sueno which the cross bears is also said to be that of a king of Norway who made peace with Malcolm II., King of Scotland. The cross, however, denotes a Christian period, and as such we can have no hesitation in introducing it. IX. |IKE the common opinion that Shakspere has only been recently appreciated, and was of no account in his own times, is the idea that English architecture has only just now been valued at its proper worth. It is of no avail, apparently, that these errors are extinguished to-day, they revive to-morrow. There can be no doubt that numbers of educated men saw with dismay the destruction of crosses and other ancient monuments ; so that, in fact, the real appreciation of the excellences of English art never quite died out. In Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset shire, there are not fewer than' two hundred crosses and remains of crosses. Most probably the examples given comprise all the more remarkable of them, but it is with satisfaction we see so large a number partially, at least, preserved. A curious dialogue, written by Henry Peacham, between the crosses of Charing and Cheap, describes them as "fear ing their fall in these uncertaine times," which, indeed, was only two years before the general order was issued for the destruction of crosses. There is a curious recipe for marble cement in it : Charing Cross is made to say, " I am all of white marble (which is not perceived of every one). ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGL.. AND. 107 and so cemented with mortar made of the purest lime, Callis sand, whites of eggs, and the strongest wort, that I defy all hatchets and hammers whatsoever." Still, at the destruction of monasteries, when such glories of archi tecture were destroyed, it was not likely that Charing Cross, with its white marble, should escape covetous eyes : " In Henry . VIII. time I was begged, and should have been degraded for that I had ; then in Edward the Sixe, when Somerset House was building, I was in danger ; after that, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, one of her footmen had like to have run away with me ; but the greatest danger of all I was in, when I quaked for fear, was in the reign of King James, for I was eight times begged : — part of me was bespoken to make a kitchen chimney for a chefe constable in Shoreditch ; an inn-keeper in Holborn had bargained for as much of me as would make two troughs, one to stand under a pumpe to water his guests' horses, the other to give his swine their meate in ; the rest of my poore carcase should have been carried I know not -whither to the repaire of a decayed old stone bridge (as I am told) on the top of Harrow Hill. Our royal fore father and founder, you know. King Edward the First, built our sister crosses — Lincolne, Granthame," Woborne, Northampton, Stonie Stratford, Dunstable, Saint Albans, and ourselves here in London, in the 21st year of his reigne, in the year 1289." The omission in this list of Waltham Cross, the last before the procession reached London, is curious. The plaintive recollections of Cheapside Cross are ex ceedingly valuable, as they show that reverence for anti quity was strong in the time of Elizabeth ; indeed, the io8 ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. intemperate zeal exhibited in destroying carved work only culminated in the century after she began to reign. Cheap- side Cross is made to say : — " After this most valuable and excellent king had built me in forme, answerable in beauty and proportion to the rest, I fell to decay, at which time John Hatherly, maior of London, having first obtained a license of King Henry the Sixt, anno 1441, I was repaired in a beautiful manner. John Fisher, a mercer, after that gave 600 marks to my new erecting or building, which was finished anno 1484 ; and after, in the second year of Henry the Eight, I was gilded over against the coming in of Charles the Fift. Emperor ; and newly then gilded against the coronation of King Edward the Sixt. ; and gilded againe anno 1554, against the coronation of King Philip. Lord how often have I been presented by juries of the quest for incumber- ance of the street and hindring of cartes and carriages, yet I have kept my standing : I shall never forget how, upon the 2ist of June, anno 1581, my lower statues were in the night pulled and rent down, as in the resurrection of Christ, the image of the Virgin Mary, Edward the Con fessor, and the rest. Then arose many divisions and new sects formerly unheard of, as Martin Marprelate, alias Pewin, Browne, and sundry others, as the Chronicle will inform you. My crosse should have been taken quite away, and a Piramid erected in the place, but Queen Elizabeth (that Queen of blessed memory) commanded some of her privie councill, in her Majesties name, to write unto Sir Nicholas Merely, then maior, to have me again repaired with a crosse : yet for all this I stood bare for a yeare or two after. Her Highness being very angr\'. ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 109 sent expresse worde she would not endure their contemp, but expressly commanded the cross to be set up, and sent a strict command to Sir William Rider, Lord Maior, and bade him respect my antiquity," &c. The above is a graphic, and no doubt very accurate, description of the treatment of ancient monuments in the past without iconoclastic decrees. At the present time, even, venerable half-timbered structures are remorselessly demolished to make way for new premises. It seems very disgraceful that buildings which have stood for centuries, and are still in good condition, should be sacrificed to so-called modern improvements. In most instances they might be adapted, without much difficulty, to the mercan tile exigences of the times ; at any rate, space might be found without destroying the now-diminishing number of ancient remains. There can be no doubt that the discussion of this subject will assist the hands of the Government Commission appointed to protect monu mental antiquities, and possibly enable them to embrace a wider range in their excellent work. Cheddar is situated in a deep gorge of the Mendip hills, and is not surpassed in beauty of situation by any village in England. The " Parliamentary Gazetteer " thus de scribes it : — "The ravine is narrow, and the cliffs on each side ascend abruptly to the height of many hundred feet. Some portions of the Cheddar cliffs remind one of a lofty Gothic structure, the action of the elements having worn the rock into niches and columns ; and the lofty summits of stone, without much exercise of imagination, seem to assume the appearance of turrets and spires. Inimense numbers of jackdaws are constantly flying about the 1 1 0 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. middle and upper sections of the cliffs ; hawks too of various kinds make their aeries in these rocky fastnesses ; and the visitor to this sublime scenery may constantly witness them sailing on steady wing in mid-air in all the vji'&tl la » n» Cneddar Cross. &iji,c - r^^ ISZi^ security of an uninhabited region." The church, shown in the engraving, is supposed to have been buift about 1400, and has a sculptured stone pulpit. The cross is a curious instance of altered design. It will be noticed, on reference to the plan, that it was ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND, m at first intended to build a hexagonal structure, and the steps are cut in that form ; but on arriving at the top one, from which the cross springs, the designer fitted in an octagon base, and that too not perhaps in a very artistic manner. The general appearance of the cross, however, is picturesque, though it has no architectural attractions to recommend it. Formerly it was simply a village high- KW Pla7t of Cheddar Cri cross, like many others ; it is on record that it was surmounted with a large tabernacle, in which were figures. Round Cheddar Cross a heavy stone canopy has been built, apparently in the reign of Henry VII 1. A curious feature in this addition is its scantiness, for there is only one foot between the piers of the canopy and the steps of the cross. The smallness of the accommodation would seem to indicate that it must have been a preaching-cross, 112 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. for not a dozen market-baskets could find shelter beneath it. From its steps on summer evenings, notwithstanding its proximity to the church, the preacher would doubtless frequently address a congregation and lead the hymn. The cross stands at the junction of three roads, at the entrance to the village. With every desire to appreciate the merits of ancient design, one is compelled to admit that the structure is more interesting and curious than beautiful. Britton thus speaks of it in his somewhat rare work on the " Antiquities of England :" — " This shattered cross at Cheddar seems to have been constructed at two different periods, as the central column constitutes one of those crosses that had merely a single shaft raised on steps. The lateral piers, with the roof, were probably erected at a later period, to shelter those persons who frequented the market. Bishop Joceline obtained a charter from Henry III., 19th year of his reign, to hold a weekly market here ; but this has been discontinued some years. The present cross is of a hexagonal shape, has an embattled parapet, and the upper portion is ornamented with a sort of sculptured bandage." Although there may be something rather disappointing about Cheddar Cross when its great fame is considered, we ought to be only too grateful for its preservation. At Chipping Campden, in the northern part of Gloucestershire, is a somewhat similar structure, built apparently about the same time. It stands in a picturesque old English town, formerly of some note in the county, but now almost in decay. The word Chipping — from the Anglo-Saxon word ceapan, to buy — mostly indicates a place of merchandise ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 1 1 3 which would necessarily have a market-place and cross. Chipping Campden was a great mart for wool. The town of Shepton-Mallet is situated about twelve miles to the east of Cheddar. Wells lies between them, and is one of the most perfect examples of an ancient city in England. The Bishop's Palace is moated, with a draw bridge, and is a fine example of an old English castellated building. Three wells overflow in the grounds and form a little lake, which is surrounded with very beautiful trees ; over these rise the grey towers and pinnacles of the cathedral, built apparently in the middle of the thirteenth century; the whole being mirrored in the lake below. Perhaps there is no more impressive scene in England. Here Bishop Ken wrote the Morning and Evening Hymns. Shepton-Mallet Cross is a remarkably fine structure, as will be seen from the engraving, and, like Cheddar, it has been built round a high-cross of earlier style. It is well situated in the market-place, and is certainly the most striking cross remaining in England, excepting perhaps Chichester, to which in some respects it is superior. It was built in the year 1505, by Walter Buckland and Agnes his wife. The original intention seems to have been to erect a high-cross, somewhat like those at Gloucester and Bristol, but it appears to have occurred that its utility might be increased by a canopy for shelter. Leading from the market-place is a narrow street, with substantial houses and shops, which opens up a fine view of the Mendip Hills. Many celebrated characters have been born in Shepton-Mallet, among others Simon Browne, a dis senting minister, who wrote against Tindal, and was born in 1680. Lie was a man of very great learning; but some I 114 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. years before his death, in 1732, he entertained and ex pounded the curious idea that he had no rational soul, but was merely an unconscious atom. Perhaps his contempo raries have unfairly stated his views, but such they are Shepton-Mallet Cross. said to be. His memory is yet fresh in those parts, and so also are some of his curious ideas. He never would say grace before dinner, unless very much pressed, because he said it was expecting a miracle. ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. 115 Glastonbury is one of the few towns in England that have preserved an ancient character, even in spite of many and destructive changes ; like Malmesbury, the grand old monastic buildings have quite incorporated themselves in the houses of the town, and, happily, much of the old monastic architecture remains. Here, as tradition tells us, Joseph of Arimathea rested on his way to preach the gospel to the British, and while wearied in his ascent of the hill he drove his staff into the ground, which is said to have taken root and ever since to blossom at Christmas time — at least, so say the guide-books. It is beyond doubt that a very fine old thorn does grow there, and probably it blooms early, which, from my own knowledge, is all I can affirm. Glastonbury Old Cross was a quaint, though perhaps not very pleasing structure. Until a comparatively recent date it was in a good state of preservation, and harmo nised extremely well with its surroundings. The whole town is a series of old associations, and it may not be out of place to quote a description of it from the pen of a local antiquary : — "We have hardly left behind us the flats that surround and nearly insulate the town (whence the old British name of Glassy Island), and ascend the eminence upon which it stands, before we perceive that almost every other building has either been constructed in modern times, quarried from the stone of the ruins, or is a direct remain of the architecture of the monastery from whence it is derived. The George Inn is not one of these; it preserves its old character ; it was from the earliest times a house of accommodation for the pilgrims and others visiting Glastonbury." 1 1 6 ANCLENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. This old cross is so curious and so singular in the distribution of its gables that a sketch is here given. Britton says, " Glastonbury Cross, though a large and extremely curious structure, is hardly noticed in the topo- Glastonbury Old Cross, '^^•iia-iu I SrJ^ graphic annals of this county ; its history is therefore perhaps entirely lost." Unfortunately, the building itself also is now lost, for after Britton wrote it fell into decay and neglect, and many stones were carried away for modern edifices. " There is something peculiarly unique," ANCIENT STONE CROSSES OF ENGLAND. ,17 he adds, " in the shape and ornaments of the building. A .- -x> ¦ >/>AJ^^r.V/'- '^'^£Y